1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile boom-mounted shop light particularly adapted to use in connection with the maintenance and repair of all types of motor vehicles.
2. Background Information
The maintenance and repair of motor vehicles requires the use of flexibly adaptable illumination. Proper illumination of a work area is necessary in all types of shop work and particularly in the maintenance and repair of all types of motor vehicles. The maintenance and repair of motor vehicles presents uniquely challenging problems in the provision of proper illumination due to the difficult and often impossible task of positioning the vehicle itself relative to adequate sources of illumination. Furthermore, the complexity of the machinery involved and the often tight quarters in which maintenance and repair work must be undertaken make the provisioning of illumination difficult. For example, a common problem requires illumination to be directed against the underside of a vehicle or a piece of machinery.
The commonly available form of illumination in the shop environment is the so-called "drop light." The limitations and problems inherent in the use of the "drop light" are well known.
An attempt to solve the problem of providing proper illumination of the work area for automotive vehicle maintenance and repair is given in Rotter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,606 issued Feb. 7, 1989. Rotter discloses a mobile universal shop light comprising a mobile lower stand, an upright bar and a light fixture provided with means to position the light fixture relative to the upright bar. While Rotter provides significant improvements over the "drop light," a number of shortcomings remain.
The mobile universal shop light disclosed in Rotter has limited degrees of adjustability. Since adjustability is provided through an arrangement of pins and matching holes, this arrangement allows only a limited number of angular orientations for the light fixture. Furthermore, this arrangement requires an undesirable degree of manual manipulation in order to alter the position of the light.
The mobile universal shop light disclosed in Rotter also lacks sufficient flexibility in the positioning of the light figure due to the limited number of degrees of freedom provided for the light fixture. The light fixture can only be rotated about its own axis and placed at a limited number of angular orientations relative to the upright stand. Furthermore, the disclosed arrangement virtually precludes placing the light fixture in such an orientation as to illuminate the underside of vehicles or machinery placed close to the floor.